Creating a Cook Book for Charity - Theatre Artists Give Back!

A message regarding a fun project to raise money for the Richmond Theatre Artists' Fund. ART readers, it is time to dust off your grandmothers unmatchable fruitcake recipe and send it in.

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In an effort to raise money for the Richmond Theatre Artists' Fund, we are asking our Richmond theatre family to submit recipes for the very first Richmond Theatre cookbook! These cookbooks will be for sale in the lobbies of most of the professional theatres in Richmond, and all sales proceeds will benefit the Theatre Artists' Fund.

In case you have not heard of the fund, it was started last year with the Broadway Holiday Cabaret and its purpose is to assist with the financial needs of central Virginia's theatre artists (actors, directors, designers, stage managers, administrators, etc.) whenever some health related, personal or family crisis threatens their well-being. What better way to show our love than breaking bread (or baking bread) together?

We are looking for:
*Your favorite tried and true recipes
*Recipes that remind you of shows you've done or seen
*Recipes that a cast party just isn't a cast party without
*Stories or comments that go with these recipes
*Show pictures
*Stories about wonderful or terrible things you've had to eat on stage
*Favorite places to eat after a show

We are also looking for title suggestions for our book! If you have a brilliant idea for a title, bring it on!

We welcome submissions from any category of food and drink, from appetizers to main dishes to cocktails. We encourage you to submit as many recipes as you'd like! Once we've amassed enough material, the job of editing will begin.

We'd love to have enough submissions by September 1 to have the cookbooks available for sale by the holiday season. We are planning to keep the books affordable and easy to buy as gifts (hint, hint!).

Please send your submissions to Erin Thomas. Please include the word "Cookbook" in the
subject line.

We hope you'll join us in what will be a very fun project!

Cheers!
Andy Boothby
Janine Serresseque
Jody Strickler
Erin Thomas

Categories: non-theatre, theatre_people

More Upcoming Events!

Special Events Running or Coming Soon:
SPARC.... Cats playing at Maggie Walker HS, 7/27 - 7/30
Steward School and Barksdale Theatre... Grease playing at Steward School, 7/21 - 7/30

People International, Inc, (a non-profit musical performance group) Fund Raiser... Echoes playing at Henrico HS, 7/28 at 8pm only. Features locals Brian Vaughan, Amber dePass and Gretchen Bell. Tickets only available at the door, $10. Proceeds to benefit Richmond's Fan Free Clinic. Food and clothing donations also welcome. Donations are tax deductible under the 501 © code of the IRS.

Categories: openings_events

Upcoming Theatre Events

Events opening or running currently:
Barksdale Theatre... The Full Monty, playing through 8/13
Richmond Shakespeare Festival... Macbeth, playing through 8/6
Swift Creek Mill... Steel Magnolias, playing through 8/12
Sycamore Rouge.... The Taming of the Shrew, playing July 27-August 12

If I missed something opening or running this week or next, let me know!

Categories: openings_events

Call for More World Premieres on Richmond Stages

"I sent it to every theater in the country and they all rejected it, except one . . ." Margaret Edson, on the response by America’s cultural gatekeepers to her Pulitzer Prize-Winning play WIT.

Many good things can be said about the state of theatre in Richmond today.

The theatres in town consistently produce quite an eclectic group of shows. There’s something for everyone: from the old favorites at Hanover Tavern to new musical parodies at Comedy Alley to Shakespeare produced outside at the 500-year-old Agecroft Hall.

Theatre is still relatively affordable. For example, this spring, Chamberlayne Actors Theatre presented the Richmond Premiere of Three Days of Rain. While the same show was running on Broadway with ticket prices hovering around $100, CAT’s fine production could be seen for a mere $13.

Richmond theatre has opportunities for all. Our city is unique in that there are almost as many opportunities as there are theatre artists. Theatres are always on the lookout for interested actors, designers, technicians, ushers, marketers, etc. Some cities are closed to newcomers interested in working for their companies. Not so in Richmond!

So, what do we lack? World Premieres! The lifeblood of theatre is new voices. They create excitement and develop audiences for the future. And yet, Richmond theatres produce very few fully-staged world premieres each year.

In recent years, Barksdale has staged a few, most emanating from the Richmond Playwrights Forum; Comedy Alley continues to produce new musical parodies; Mystery Dinner Playhouse generally produces only world premiere interactive murder mysteries; and Swift Creek Mill Playhouse has also produced a few original shows. There are certainly others, and the results have been both enjoyable and exciting. However, the playwrights represented by these efforts number only a few, and there is no theatre seriously dedicated to the creation of new work. Each year, the full-length world premieres available to Richmond audiences - either fully produced or staged - often number in the single digits.

It’s a risky endeavor to produce plays without name recognition. However, the rewards could be substantial: if plays nurtured in Richmond are mounted elsewhere, the theatre and the city’s names are promoted and the areas cultural identity is developed both nationally and internationally. In addition, there are a significant number of contributors eager to support the creation of new work for the theatre. A brief look at the theatres who have received large grants from governmental entities or corporations clearly illustrates that new work is desirable and prestigious.

New work, new artists and new money converging in Richmond means more opportunities for the entire Richmond theatre community, as well as many magical performances for the Richmond theatre-goer. Putting Richmond theatre on the National map is good for everyone!

Categories: editorials

Upcoming Theatre Events

Events opening or running currently:
Barksdale Theatre... The Full Monty, playing through 8/13
Richmond Shakespeare Festival... Macbeth, playing 7/13 - 8/6
Swift Creek Mill... Steel Magnolias, playing through 8/12

If I missed something opening or running this week or next, let me know!

Categories: openings_events

One More 2006-2007 Season

Modlin Center has released their upcoming season schedule. It is a long - and great - schedule; I'll include the blurb from their recent email, click this link to find the entire season online.

If you aren't a season subscriber, I recommend trying that this year - whether you subscribe to Modlin, Firehouse, Barksdale, Triangle Players or any of the other amazing companies in town, you are guaranteed the best seats. You just cannot say that when you only buy single tickets. You also save money on the single ticket price. So if you want to save money, guarantee your spot, and support Richmond theatre consider season subscriptions.

Here is the update from Modlin:
The Modlin Center is excited to announce our 2006-2007 season. Starting with Battleworks Dance Company on September 8 & 9 and running through jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves on April 25, we have again assembled an exceptional schedule of artists in music, theatre and dance. Brochures have been sent to patrons on our mailing list and should be arriving shortly. In the meantime, you can visit our Web site to see our complete schedule, download order forms, request a brochure and much more.

We are happy to share in this message a few details about some of the exciting events scheduled for the upcoming season. Although new to Richmond, audiences may be familiar with the works of Robert Battle, the artistic director of Battleworks Dance Company (September 8-9). The Parsons Dance Company has performed his choreography around the world and his works have been commissioned by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Hubbard Street 2 and The Juilliard School, among others. Reduced Shakespeare Company (October 20-21) returns to the Modlin Center with a new show, Completely Hollywood (abridged). Some of you may remember that the RSC kicked off our opening weekend almost 10 years ago. A legendary jazz pianist and host of an award-winning NPR program, Marian McPartland (November 6) returns to Richmond with her trio for a single performance. We have also invited The Western Wind (December 11) back to campus to make up for their cancelled concert last season. This season, they bring their Christmas program, "Holiday Light, Singing Angels, Silver Bells." Let's hope for good weather!

The New Year kicks off with performances by two much-loved, and visually stunning, groups: MOMIX (January 16-17) dance company and Cirque Eloize (January 27-30). Both have been highly requested by Modlin Center patrons over the years. The Shanghai Quartet (February 14) returns with a Valentine's Day program, "Love and Fireworks," featuring works from the romantic period and ending with their favorite encore pieces. We also have a St. Patrick's Day program featuring Boys of the Lough (March 17) whose warm and vital performances have won them friends from the village halls of Scotland to international concert and festival stages. The season ends on a high note with the return of three-time Grammy award-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves (April 15).

Categories: openings_events